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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Neoliberalism - the theory tearing our world apart

What is the true modern enemy of peace and equality? An economic theory that has been destroying the world for over thirty years and has led to the rise of neoconservativism, the political ideology that gets 'er done at the expense of morality, democracy and equality. It is a far more insidious and successful enemy of freedom than communism ever was.

The following is a good article from Niagara At Large which defines the concept and tells of its destructive power.

Neo-Liberalism And The Man Behind The Curtain

By Mark Taliano

Words impact people and help to win elections. The word
“conservative”, for example, denotes “conservation”, and evokes images
of environmental conservation, economic, prudence and so on.

This word does not, however, describe our current federal regime, as
it dismantles environmental protections, deregulates markets, subsidizes
transnational corporations, bails out banks, and weakens the public
sector at every turn. The word that does, however, describe our current
federal regime, is “neoliberal”. Beneath the surface, the Harper
regime, with its Reform party roots, is actually a “neoliberal”
government.

Not surprisingly, the term “neoliberal” is rarely used in the
corporate media, just as the phrase “human-caused climate change” is
rarely found in corporate media.

The big question is why? And the answer is fairly straightforward.
Huge corporate entities make the rules and frame the discussions.

Neo-liberalism is an economic theory that benefits about 20 per cent
of the population, while it is a disservice to the rest. It is also the
economic theory that created the catastrophic crash of the financial
markets in 2008, as well as the economic devastation elsewhere in the
world.

Hallmarks of this theory include privatization, deregulation, the rolling back of the public sphere, and the enrichment of the 1%.

It preaches a “laissez-faire” market approach, but it relies for its
success on huge public subsidies and bailouts. It creates a casino,
boom/bust economy that is insured by unwitting public citizens.

It plays havoc with environmental stewardship (gutting environmental
regulations); it plays havoc with financial markets (unregulated
financial transactions ( i.e hedge funds/derivatives); and it plays
havoc with solidarity movements such as unions. Most insidious of all,
though, it becomes stronger where democracy is weak or non-existent.
Democracy and neoliberalism move in opposite directions.

Chinais a flourishing capitalist, “neoliberal” country, but when
democracy tried to break out atTiananmen Square, the students and their
democratic ideals were wiped out …. literally. The bodies were burned,
and nowChinais a strong capitalist, but aggressively anti-democratic
country.

Russia, too, is now a capitalist country with a “neoliberal” economy, but its democracy is very weak.

So, the unseen, un-named influence in the Harper regime, and to a
slightly lesser extent, the McGuinty government, is neoliberalism.

In some respects, apart from the lack of respect that it demonstrates to working people, neoliberalism is also evil.

The military-industrial complex grows by creating fear and by waging
war. So, in 2003 when the U.S and the U.K unleashed weapons of mass
destruction onIraq(a country that had nothing to do with 9/11,
terrorism, or the alleged weapons of mass destruction), the corporate
media barely mentioned the thousands (over 100,000) of American anti-war
protestors in the streets. Not surprisingly, CBS was owned by
Westinghouse, and NBC by General Electric, two major weapons
manufacturers, when the Iraq War started.

According to Iraq Body Count, from 106, 695 – 116,548 (likely more)
innocent, non-combatants have lost their lives so far since the criminal
invasion ofIraq.

The military industrial complex also affectsCanada. Lockheed
Martin, the sole source provider of the F-35’s will likely cost
Canadians billions more than expected. This, at a time when public
services such as health care are under-funded and dysfunctional.

Even as neoliberalism fosters these maladjusted priorities, it is
still a winning formula for the exploiters though: they use public money
to undermine the public sphere, so the largely unaccountable
transnational corporations can profit. This insinuation of the private
sphere into what has traditionally been the public sphere is happening
at an alarming rate now, and it will continue to drive up prices for
ordinary citizens, especially in the realm of health care.

Canada currently has record levels of economic disparities, record
levels of planned environmental devastation, and record levels of
democratic deficits: all hallmarks of neo-liberalism.

Yet even as this exploitative system crashes economically, and forces
“austerity” on the 99%, it is still fairly intact ideologically. It
is still wearing the mask of “conservatism”, and it is still a taboo
topic for the corporate media.

“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”

Mark Taliano is a Niagara native and frequent contributor of political essays and commentary to Niagara At Large.

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About Me

The Pündi are a race from my fantasy novels, the Continuum Chronicles, an exploration of spiritual evolution theory. Appearing like us, they are really child-sized aliens cursed by their own intelligence, trapped as observers unable to share their knowledge. They often develop an individual obsessive interest.

I write and publish, not selling anything, just trying to share ideas that might profit everyone. I aim not for originality but creativity, organizing what exists to generate new associations. I'm a writer with thick glasses and autism, familiar with the struggle for clarity. Novelist, researcher, internet activist, spiritual evolutionist, and process philosopher, I believe in democratic social capitalism with a well-regulated engine of sustainable markets. As a writer, I find that most blockages tend to be improvements trying to occur to me.